This afternoon the Twins announced that Fransisco Lirano will start the season pitching for the Class A Fort Myers Miracle.  In my opinion, this is a good move by the front office for several reasons.

1.  He’s rusty.  Lirano has shown some signs of regaining the form that he had in 2006 but for the most part he is missing his velocity and his slider.  As a pitcher, he needs to learn to trust his surgically repaired ligaments and feel comfortable throwing his fastball at 100%.  His slider is a different issue.  Control over breaking balls is very difficult.  He has shown this spring that he does not have the control over the slider that was the most devistating in the game.  His sliders are largely up in the zone and look more like a slow curve instead of having the dramatic breaking motion that it once had.  Spending time dominating Class A hitters will help him get important innings as well as get a feel for his pitches again.

2.  Confidence.  Liriano has always been a confident pitcher however with his coming back from Tommy John surgery he will need to continue to maintain the confidence that he had in 2006.  If he can work on his pitches and start to dominate the minors then Gardy will not have a hard decision to bring him up to the big show.

3.  Experience for other players.  The last thing the Twins want is to demote a pitcher who has pitched well in favor of someone who will sell Jerseys or tickets.  The Twins need to win in order for the fan base to be interested.  The residents of the upper mid-west are typically very bandwagon prone and if the Twins fall far out of the running early it will have an effect on the financial success this season.  Put someone in a position where they may win.  If that is Liriano fine, but if its not then let Liriano make his starts for the Miracle and lets have someone like Blackburn pitching.
All in all, I think that this is a good move several reasons.  I’m glad that they announced it today so that he can make a start prior to the regular season starting for the Miracle